BJ Penn Worried About What ‘UFC Countdown’ Forced Him to Say About Nick Diaz

BJ Penn already knows Nick Diaz is a tad ticked off heading into their UFC 137 shootout. Who wouldn’t be after getting pulled from the show’s main event against welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (even if Diaz is the person responsible for his own demotion)?

Unfortunately for Penn, it appears he may have been forced to say something about his controversial opponent that could add fuel to Diaz’s already white-hot fire.

After filming his ‘UFC Countdown’ segment for his bout against Carlos Condit, the production team was required to come back and shoot new footage now that Penn is fighting Diaz. Just when they were about to wrap the documentary, producers force-fed Penn a closing statement that the Hawaiian feels may come back to haunt him.

“One thing that was a trip about that whole thing was, I got a lot of respect for Diaz, I trained with him before, and they forced me to say at the end of the whole thing … ‘Say you’re gonna beat Nick Diaz. Say you’re gonna beat Nick Diaz,’ Penn shared. “And I said, ‘I’m going to beat Nick Diaz.’

“I wish if I was really more smart, I woulda said, ‘At UFC 137, my hand will be raised.’

Although they mean practically the same thing, a minor change in verbiage could go a long way in how Diaz interprets the message. Fighters can be quite sensitive, especially as showtime approaches and they hunt for extra motivation.